1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the treatment of neuro-cerebral disorders characterized by lesions, such as multiple sclerosis, in which the lesions are subjected to a corona discharge beam projected from an applicator, and more particularly to a computer-controlled servo-mechanism adapted to position the applicator to cause the projected beams to trace a predetermined pattern on a site on the body of the subject be treated adjacent the lesions.
2. Status of Prior Art
The human brain is the supervisory center of the nervous system in which sensory nerve cells feed information to the brain from every region of the body, internal and external. The brain evaluates this incoming data and then sends directives through motor nerve cells to the muscles and glands to cause them to take appropriate actions. Thus if you touch a hot stove with a finger, the brain is informed of this fact by sensory nerve cells in the finger, and the brain then instructs motor nerve cells to pull the finger away from the stove.
Anatomically, the brain has three parts, the first being the hind brain which includes the cerebellum and the brain stem. The second part is the midbrain, and the third, the forebrain. The forebrain includes the cerebrum which is by far the largest sector of the brain and occupies the top most portion of the skull.
The cerebrum is split vertically into left and right hemispheres, the left hemisphere controlling the right side of the body and the right hemisphere the left side. The basal ganglia in each cerebrum hemisphere handles coordination as well as habitual but acquired skills.
The upper surface of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex which incorporates the master controls of the body. It is in the cerebral cortex where incoming sensory data is analyzed and where motor impulses are originated to initiate, reinforce or inhibit muscle and gland activity.
It is well known that various neurological disorders are characterized by lesions in particular parts of the cerebrum (See: Principles of Neurology--Adams & Victor, 3rd Edition, McGraw--Hill--Chapter 21).
Thus the clinical manifestations of multiple sclerosis (MS) are determined by the location and extent of the foci of demyelination, the destruction of the myelin sheath of the nerve fibers. In the pathologic findings of ms, the brain and the spinal cord associated with the brain reveal numerous scattered lesions. These stand out from the surrounding white tissue in that the loss of myelin results in a pink-gray color.
The frontal lobes of the brain constitute about 30 percent of the cerebrum. Of the various effects of frontal lobe lesions, most is known about motor abnormalities caused thereby, such as spastic paralysis. Those abnormalities in motor functions which are referred to as cerebral palsy are characterized pathologically by cerebral lesions. These lesions can be identified by CT scans and ultrasound imaging. Cerebral lesions are also exhibited in Parkinson's disease which results in tremulous involuntary motion and lessened muscular power.
In a non-invasive therapeutic technique in accordance with the invention for treating neuro-cerebral disorders, the lesions which characterize these diseases are subjected to ionic bombardment by a pulsatory corona discharge beam projected from an applicator. Hence of prior art interest are applicants' prior patents which disclose corona discharge beam applicators for other purposes.
The Di Mino patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,676,633 and 3,617,684 disclose a technique for changing the value of microelectronic resistors formed in a substrate. To bring about a decrease in resistance value, the surface of the resistor is subjected to a corona discharge beam. This beam is produced by radio-frequency energy which is amplitude-modulated by an audio frequency signal to generate bursts of energy which are applied to a discharge electrode from which the corona discharge beam is projected.
A luminous corona discharge is brought about as a result of the ionization of air surrounding an electrode. This phenomenon occurs when the potential gradient exceeds a certain value, but is not sufficient to cause breakdown of the air which results in sparking. When the luminous corona discharge extends from a point on the electrode to a surface spaced from this point, then the discharge is in the form of a linear beam rather than a halo.
Of greater prior art interest are the patents to Di Mino U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,667,677 and 5,249,575 which disclose a corona discharge technique for therapeutically treating human and animal subjects. In this technique, a corona-discharge beam is projected from an electrode toward an external site on the body being treated overlying a problem region. This beam serves to relieve pain and to gain other salutary effects, such as to alleviate an arthritic condition.
The system disclosed in Di Mino patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,575 includes an energy-generating unit in which a radio-frequency carrier is overmodulated by an audio-frequency signal to produce periodic bursts of radio-frequency energy whose repetition rate corresponds to the audio frequency of the signal. The output of this unit is fed by a flexible coaxial cable to a tank circuit tuned to the carrier frequency and housed within the barrel of a portable applicator gun on whose grip is mounted a trigger switch operatively connected to the unit.
Supported within the barrel and coupled to the tank circuit is a discharge electrode whose tip is adjacent the mouth of the barrel. When an operator holding the gun actuates the trigger switch, the unit is turned on and a corona discharge beam is then projected from the electrode tip, the operator positioning the gun to direct the beam toward the skin surface to be treated.
Though a system of the type disclosed in the Di Mino '575 patent is useful in relieving pain or in realizing other therapeutic effects, the corona discharge beam produced by this system is not effective to a significant degree in the treatment of neuro-cerebral disorders.
In above-identified copending DiMino application there is disclosed a system for treating neuro-cerebral disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, that are characterized by internal lesions. The system includes an applicator from which is projected a pulsatory corona discharge beam which is directed toward an external site on the body of the subject being treated adjacent the internal lesions. The beam is scanned over the site to bombard the lesions with ions for a period sufficient to alleviate the disorder.
To carry out this treatment the applicator which has a gun-like format is hand-held by an operator and manipulated to project the corona discharge beam toward a site on the body of the subject being treated that is adjacent the lesions. This site may for example be on the skull of the subject overlying the two cerebrum hemispheres in which the lesions are located. In other cases, the site may be in the region of the spine adjacent the brain, the selected site depending on the location of the lesions in the particular disorder being treated.
In order to subject all areas of the lesions to the corona discharge beam, the operator must manipulate the applicator so that the beam scans the site to traverse all areas of the adjacent lesions, and to do so for a period of treatment which usually lasts several minutes.
This manual procedure for manipulating the corona beam applicator is not only difficult to carry out, but it is also somewhat deficient in regard to proper treatment of the subject suffering from a neuro-cerebral disorder. Thus it is desirable for proper treatment that the operator hold the applicator in the course of treatment a short fixed distance from the selected site on the body of the subject, so that the corona discharge beam always bridges this distance. It is not only hard for an operator to maintain this distance for the several minutes of treatment, but it is even more difficult for the operator to be sure that all areas of the site are scanned with the beam for a sufficient period of time to effect proper treatment.
Moreover, proper treatment dictates that the site on the subject exposed to the corona discharge beam remain steady during the several minutes of treatment. Thus if the site of treatment on the subject is a section of his skull below which are the two hemispheres of the cerebrum, and the subject is seated on a chair, he may find it quite difficult to hold his head steady in the course of several minutes of treatment.